Stand front support necessary?

[HiImSean]

I purchased my tank with a homemade stand. It is constructed out of 3/4” plywood. The guy built a removable center support for the middle of the tank. Do you think this is necessary? With it installed it’s a bit cumbersome getting in the stand.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Should not be but do make a pint of rechecking with a level every 4-6 months

 

[RocketEngineer]

That worries me. It looks like that is the only direct support of the front of the tank as the horizontal piece appears supported by just screws. Not how I would do it. JMO

 

[dantimdad]

Let's make an educated call on this:

What is the span?
What size is the aquarium?
Is this just screws or glue and screws?
What is the thickness of the cross member that runs the length of the span?

After you answer these, this question can be accurately answered.

 

[laxer23]

Not being a fan of that style of stand, I'd say the construction looks fine without the center beam. All 4 corners have direct support down to the floor. Only thing I would worry about and I can't really tell is the size of the tank, it may bow the front top support down if its a bigger tank. 75 gal and under I wouldn't worry.

 

[Chrisv.]

Let's make an educated call on this:

What is the span?
What size is the aquarium?
Is this just screws or glue and screws?
What is the thickness of the cross member that runs the length of the span?

After you answer these, this question can be accurately answered.

Are there any back of the envelope (or more formal) calculations to keep in mind when constructing stands?

I see similar threads come up from time to time and my answer is always "I choose to over build mine, but I'm no engineer."

I know very little about how to engineer a stand for a particular weight. Any tips?

Thanks!

 

[dantimdad]

Are there any back of the envelope (or more formal) calculations to keep in mind when constructing stands?

I see similar threads come up from time to time and my answer is always "I choose to over build mine, but I'm no engineer."

I know very little about how to engineer a stand for a particular weight. Any tips?

Thanks!

garf.org had one for a long time.

I am not really sure of one readily available.

I have been building stands for years and just use my own experience with spans and weights. Plus, if I have questions, I have two materials and one structural engineers that I can contact for stuff above my engineering education.

As far as tips: You can span up to 3 feet with a tank up to about 22" deep with just 3/4" plywood 4" wide. Done it many times. I prefer, however, to set 3/4" about 1.5" below the top of edge of another piece of 3/4" so the tank sets down in the stand. This effectively gives you 1.5" wide plywood if you glue and nail it together. Ridiculously strong.

I had 4 doors on a 12 foot long tank and each span is roughly 30" open done this way and it was stupid strong. There is zero bow in the stand and the tank alone weighs a whopping 850 pounds. It's coming back to me and the current owner broke something hitting it with a car. LOL.

 

[HiImSean]

Let's make an educated call on this:

What is the span?
What size is the aquarium?
Is this just screws or glue and screws?
What is the thickness of the cross member that runs the length of the span?

After you answer these, this question can be accurately answered.

The tank is a 32x24x20 66g. It appears everything is screwed and glued. The span thickness is 3/4”

@dantimdad

 

[dantimdad]

as long as it's at least 3" wide you should be fine.

 

[HiImSean]

as long as it's at least 3" wide you should be fine.

The vertical center brace or the span piece should be 3”

 

[dantimdad]

The vertical center brace or the span piece should be 3”

The span piece.